Printing-press.



H. F. BEGHMAN.

PRINTING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 11, 1914.

Patented Dec. 15. 191i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY F. BECHMAN, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR '10 DUPLEXPBINTIN G PRESS COMIPANY, OF BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

PRINTING-PRESS.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Dec. 15,1914.

Application filed ul 11,1914. Serial 110. $50,433.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, HENRY F. BnmaMAN, a'ci t izen of-;.the United States, IGSldlIlg at Battle Creek, in the county of Calhoun and panying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention is a novel improvement in fiat-bed type-printing web-per ecting printing presses of the well known type in which impressions are taken upon a web from flat forms of type lying up'on flat beds by means of cylinders which are 'reciprocated back and forth over the type. This construction of press is illustrated particularly by the well known Duplex and was first disclosed in patent to Cox No. 478,503, dated July 5, 1892.

The object of the present invention is to greatly increase the practical speed of operation of such presses without complicating their parts and thus to enlarge their field- 0f usefulness and enable them to be used in many places where rotary printing presses are now required.

The invention will be hereinafter explained in detail and summarized in the claims.

The accompanying drawing represents a partial side elevation and part section of a Duplex flat-bed web-perfecting press, and I will explain the invention with reference thereto, it being understood that its application is not limited to the particular constructions shown, but that it is a principle applicable to other presses of the same general operative character.

In the drawing 1, 1 represent superposed type beds mounted in a suitable main frame and slidable cross-heads 2 are mounted to reciprocate back and forth on guide-ways 3 on the frame adjacent the upper bed; said cross-heads bein reciprocated by means of pitmen 2 attac ed to crank wheels (not shown) in the usual manner.

Cooperating with the type beds 1, 1 are impression cylinders 4, 4 which are journaled in the cross-heads 2 as usual; and in these cross-heads are also mounted inking rollers and web guiding rollers in the usual manner. The web W is directed from the feeding devices (not shown) successively between the cylinders and beds as indicated in the drawings, and thence to the delivery devices (not own). These parts of; the press are well known, and may be constructed and operated substantially as in the well known Duplex press, 'and as described in the said Cox patent, and therefore further detailed description thereof is unnecessary.

In the present known most efiioient form of this press the practical speed is from 4500 to 5000 perfected impressions (or newspapers) per hour, according to the size of the press. The first limitationupon the speed of such presses was the inability to shift the web with sufficient rapidity during the short intervals between successlve impressions; but this difficulty was successfully overcome; but a heretofore insuperable limitation upon the s eed of such presses has been the necessari y great weight of the reciprocating parts, (i. e. the cylinder, crossheads and pitmen) which in a Duplex press adapted to print an eight-page newspaper is iabout 3000 pounds, and all this Weight had cause of the low speed of such flat-bed presses, as compared with rotary presses, the 'eld for such flat-bed web-printing presses has been limited to newspapers having a very small circulation; and publishers of newspapers having a larger circulation have been compelled to buy and use expensive stereotype rotary presses in order to get out: their papers in time. These facts have been known for years, and many inventions designed to enhance the speed of the Duplex fiat-bed press have been made and patented by myself and others during the last twenty years, but, as stated the utmost speed that it has been heretofore possible to obtain in the best of these presses has been about 5000 eight-page papers per hour.

ypresent invention however will greatly increase the speed of such flatbed presses manner 0 andwill enable a press like that which has heretofore been capable of printing only about i 00 eight-page papers per hour to print upward of 7 500 eight-page papers per hour; and this desirable novel and highly used in place of iron or steel for the parts mentioned. a

' The difference in weight of the reciprocatory parts of two presses of similar size,

one havin such parts madev in the usual iron and steel, and the other having such parts made of such aluminum- 'alloy, is about 1100 pounds; or in round numbers the parts made of aluminum-alloy weigh only about 1800 pounds as against 2900 pounds when made as heretofore of iron or ordinary metal. This great reduction in weight is of the utmost practical benefit, for these reciprocating parts have to be started, moved overthe type bed and stopped for each printing operation, or

' newspaper printed on such press.

In the old machines the reciprocating parts weighing approximately 2900 pounds were reciprocated over the beds, and were traveled about 38 inches and stopped on each stroke and must make eighty strokes a minute to enable the press to produce about 5000 newspapers an hour and the vibrations and shocks incident to such movements of this weight renderedvhigher speeds impractical. But when these parts are made of aluminum-alloy, as described, the weight is reduced 1100 pounds and consequently being so much lighter they can be speeded up to about 120 strokes per minute, and thus produce about 7500 newspapers per hour, with no greater strain upon the parts and no more shock or vibration than occurs in the old machines operated at 80 strokes per minute. By using such aluminum-alloy for; the moving parts as aforesaid; the speed of coplel of this patent may be obtained for memes the press. has been Ly increased about 5 0%, and such increase in speed proportionately increases the usefulness if such press, and greatly enlarges the field therefor as it enables such presses to be em lays-d.

fj' printing newspapers which have therto required rotary stereotype presses. The great practical value and utility of the in.- vention will be 'best appreciated, by those skilled in the art who are familiarwith the V I many unsuccessful efiorts to increase the speed of such presses, and the great and urgent demand of the trade therefor; and by newspaper publishers who will be there t by saved the necessity of procuring and using expensive rotary presses and stereowhile requiring a press of greater capacity than that of the heretofore known Duplex fiat-bed presses will not justify the outlay and expcnse incident to the purchase and upkeep of a rotary stereotype newspaper printing press.

What I claim is:

1. In a fiat-bed web perfecting press, the combination of fiat type beds, reciprocating cross-heads; cylinders cooperating with the beds and journaled in said cross-heads, and

means for reciprocating the crdss-heads,

said cylinders being made of aluminumalloy, as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a fiat-bed web-perfecting press, the combination of fiat type beds, reciprocating cross-heads, cylinders cotiperatin with the beds and journaled in said crosseads, and means for reciprocating the cross-heads; said cylinders and cross-heads being made of aluminumalloy, as and for the purpose 3. In a flat-bed web-perfecting press, the combination of fiat type beds, reciprocating cross-heads, cylinders coiiperating with the beds and journaled in said cross-heads, and pitmen for reciprocating the cross-heads; said cylinders, cross-heads, and pitr'nen being made of aluminum-alloy, as and for the purpose specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I afiixmy signature in presence of two Witnesses.

HENRY F. BECHMANQ Witnesses CHAianns .AEGBAMVES, I. K. S'roNE.

five cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, I). 0.

typing apparatus, and whose circulations 

